Tapocketa

Based in Hertford, UK, MiniTonic brings together the artistry and technical wizardry of founders Eleanor Long and Trevor Young. With distinguished backgrounds in film, television and the arts – including silver screen blockbusters – they’ve turned their hands to crafting unique, handmade animation and illustration work.

Each character moves with verve through gorgeously tactile scenery, for an instantly captivating effect. One of their first creations is the ‘boovie’ Galdo’s Gift – a combination of a children’s book and a movie. It won an incredible six gongs at the Digital Book World Awards 2018, including in the overall Best Book category.
Inspiration comes from Terry Gilliam, Oliver Postgate, Victorian paper theatres and British folk art. Eleanor studied at Canterbury College and has an MA from the Royal College of Art. Trevor has a BA (Hons) from Camberwell College.

Approach

Everything is sketched with pencil on paper as Trevor and Eleanor plan out the scenes and refine the story. Then simple models are created of sets and characters, and they work out the parts needed and how they’ll move. These are scanned in and reassembled in the 3D animation program Blender.

Style

MiniTonic’s enhanced paper cut style is characterised by rich colours and textures, along with depth and volume that makes viewers want to step into the scenes and interact with the funny characters.

Awards

Best Book (Overall) – Digital Book World Awards – 2018
Best Book (Fiction) – Digital Book World Awards - 2018
Best Book (Children’s) – Digital Book World Awards - 2018
Best Book (Interactive Fiction) – Digital Book World Awards – 2018
Gold – Enhanced Picture Books – Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards - 2018